Mining machine with radially adjustable boring arm



June 18, 1957 W. W. SLOAN E MINING MACHINE WITH RADIALLY ADJUSTABLE BORING ARM Original Filed Dec. 17, 1952 /z as Fig. 3

I INVENTOR.

William W Sloane W ZATTORNEY MINING MACHINE WITH RADIALLY ADJUST- ABLE BORING ARM William W. Sloane, deceased, late of Chicago, 111., by Alice B. Sloane, executrix, Chicago, 11]., assignor to Goodman Manufacturing Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois 1 Claim. (Cl. 262-26) This invention relates to improvements in mining machines adapted to remove coal or similar material from the face of the mine, and more particularly to mining machines of the type having one or more laterally spaced, radial boring arms with cutting devices thereon adapted to cut bores in advance of the machine. The present invention is especially designed as an improvement over the form of mining machine disclosed in the application of Frank Cartlidge and Frank A. Lindgren, Serial No. 255,058, filed November 6', 1951, now Patent No. 2,734,731, wherein the cutter bit supports on the outer ends of the boring arms are telescopically mounted for endwise extension by power means operating from the supporting frame of the rotatable boring member and effective through the drive shaft for said rotatable boring element to adjust the extension of the radial arms while the boring element is in operation.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved form of adjusting mechanism for both extension and retraction of the arms radially of the boring element while the latter is in operation.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear from time to time as the following description proceeds.

The present application is a division of copending application Serial No. 326,399, now Patent No. 2,730,345, and relates more particularly to a variant form of gearing originally shown and described in said parent application.

The invention may best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary sectional view taken generally along the vertical plane passing through the axis of rotation of a boring element constructed in accordance with the invention and illustrating the environment of the specific, but variant, form of gearing forming the subject matter of the present application;

Figure 2 is a front end view of the boring element shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a detailed section taken on line 33 of Figure 1.

Referring now to details of the embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 3, these three figures illustrate the general form and arrangement of a boring head assembly for which the gearing of the present application is especially designed. In said assembly, a mining machine support or frame is indicated generally at at the front end of which is mounted a boring element indicated generally at 11 adapted to be rotated by power on a generally horizontal axis in advance of the mining machine. In practice, machines of the kind to which the invention relates frequently have two or more similar boring elements rotating on parallel axes so as to cut contiguous bores. Since the present invention is directed more particularly to features of a single boring element, only one such boring element need be shown or described herein.

The boring element 11, shown in Figure 1, consists of nite States Patent ICC a radially elongated, hollowsupporting frame 12 having an integral hub 13 rotatable in suitable bearings 14 in a gear housing 15 secured to the front end of the main support 10. The cutter arm support '12 is generally hollow and has a pair of radially extending cutter arms 16, 16 mounted for endwise telescopic movement relative thereto. Each cutter arm has a cutter bit support 17 on its outer end, extending at a right angle forwardly therefrom, and having a plurality of detachable cutter bits 18, 18 at its inner, outer and forward end portions.

The boring element 11 may also be provided with a tapered drill-like member projecting forwardly concentric with the hub 13.

The inner ends of the radially extending cutter arms 16, 16 are telescopically adjustable'in the hollow frame 12 along two parallel guideways 20, 20 formed closely adjacent each other on opposite sides of the axis of rotation of the boring element (see Figure 3). These guideways have wear plates 21 and 22 along the side and front inner faces thereof, engaged by bolts 23, 23 in the hollow frame for adjusting said wear plates relative to the cutter arms when necessary. Each of the guideways 20 has a vertically extending slot 25 opening rearwardly along its inner face through which extend a bracket 26 fixed to the rear face of the respective telescoping arm 16. Each of the brackets 26 has an enlarged end portion 27 in which is threaded a screw shaft 28.

As will be seen from Figure 1, each screw shaft 28' has its outer end journalled in a bearing support 29 carried on the inner face of the hollow frame 12 adjacent the aperture 30 through which its respective cutter arm 16 projects. The inner end of each screw shaft 28 is journalled in a pair of bearing supports 31, 32 projecting inwardly and fixed to the end of the side face of the hollow frame 12. The two screw shafts 28, 28 rotate on parallel, laterally spaced axes, but are disposed in endwise oifset relation to each other toward opposite ends of the hollow frame.

The hub 13 of the boring element has an adjusting shaft 35 extending axially therethrough and journalled on longitudinally spaced bearings 36 and 37 therein. The outer end of the adjusting shaft 35 may also have a reduced end portion 38 journalled in a cross web 39 of the hollow frame 12, which cross web also forms a part of the guideways 20 for the cutter arms 16. A worm 40 is fixed on the outer end of the shaft 35 in engagement with worm wheels 41, 41 fixed on the two screw shafts 28, 28 between their respective bearing supports 31 and 32.

The dual sets of worm gearing and screw shafts are arranged to cause simultaneous telescopic extension or retraction of the cutter arms 16, 16 in the hollow frame 12 when the adjusting shaft 35 is rotated in one direction or the other.

The hub 13 of the boring element may be driven through any suitable power-driven gearing, in the form shown in Figure 1 a gear 45 being fixed on the rear end of the hub and driven by a gear 46 on shaft 47, from any suitable power source on the supporting frame 10.

Referring now to the means for operatively connecting the hub 13 with the adjusting shaft 35 so as to rotate the latter in one direction or the other, there is provided a planetary gear mechanism generally indicated at 50, having one element operatively connected with the hub 13 of said boring element, a second element operatively connected with the adjusting shaft 35, and a third element arranged for positive rotation by power in one direction or the other under the control of the operator.

The form of planetary gearing shown in Figure 1, which forms the subject matter of the present divisional application, employs a gear 85, which might be termed a sun gear, and which is keyed on the control or adjusting shaft 35 and meshed with a planetary gear 86 on a gear 87, which is loosely mounted on the adjusting shaft. The gear 87 has geared connection with the boring element hub 13 through spur gears 88 and 89 formed integrally with each other and rotatably mounted on a shaft 90 fixed on the housing 15, the last-named gear 89 being meshed with the gear 45 fixed on the inner end of said hub. In this instance, the outer periphery of the planetary gear 86 is meshed with an internal gear 93 of gear member 94 loosely mounted on the adjusting shaft 35.

Rotation of the gear member 94 is effected by a reversible motor (not shown) under control of the operator in any conventional manner, and connected through a control shaft 60 rotated on an axis parallel with the axis of the adjusting shaft 35 and having a pinion 61 thereon meshed with external gear teeth 62 formed about the gear member 94.

The gearing just described is such that the adjusting shaft 35 will rotate in the same direction and at the same speed as the hub 13 so long as the internal gear member 94 is held stationary by the control shaft 60 having pinion 61 meshed with teeth 62 on the gear member 94. Any change in angular position of the gear member 94, caused by rotation of the control shaft 60, will cause the adjusting shaft 35 to rotate with respect to the hub 13 for adjusting the cutter arms 16, 16 telescopically with respect to the hollow cutter frame 12 of the boring element 11.

Although there has been shown and described a certain embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the exact construction shown and described, but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

In a mining machine having a frame and a power-driven boring element rotatably mounted thereon, including a hub and at least one cutter carrying arm adjustable radially of said hub, means for adjusting the position of the arm relative to said hub, including a shaft extending concentrically through and axially of said hub and operably connected with the arm at the front end thereof to move the latter in response to rotation of the shaft relative to the hub, the improvement comprising a first sun gear fixed on said shaft meshed with a planetary gear on a gear loosely rotatable on said shaft, said gear having geared connection with theboring element through gears rotatably mounted on the frame, said planetary gears also being meshed on their outer peripheries with an internal gear on a gear member loosely mounted on said shaft, and means for rotating said gear member reversely including a control shaft disposed on an axis parallel with the axis of said shaft and having geared connection with said gear member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,730,345 Sloane Jan. 10, 1956 

